March 24 (Bloomberg) -- While others pack themselves into
“The Steins Collect” with its abundance of Matisses and
Picassos, take yourself into the softly glowing splendor of
“Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition.”

On view are around 300 objects, ranging from small gold
coins to mosaics and seductive finery.

Muslims, Christians, Jews and all manner of religious
subgroups mingled along the trade routes, attesting to the
diversity that once did not mean killing each other off with
great enthusiasm.

Runs through July 8 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000
Fifth Ave. Information: +1-212-535-7710;
http://www.metmuseum.org.

Saturday Matinee

American baritone great Thomas Hampson sings Macbeth in a
revival of Adrian Noble’s spellbinding production.

Nadja Michael appears as his pushy wife and Dimitri Pittas
shows off his clarion tenor as Macduff.

The matinee starts at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast from the
Metropolitan Opera.

Saturday Night

Watch two couples mix it up in Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte”
at John Jay College, a few blocks south of Lincoln Center.
That’s where the homeless New York City Opera has landed this
weekend, having abandoned the David H. Koch Theater.

The staging is by the usually piquant Christopher Alden,
with sets by Andrew Lieberman that evoke Central Park, also
nearby. A smart-looking cast sings Mozart’s great tunes.